1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disposable receiver for surgical implements and, more particularly, it relates to a receiver for securely encasing pointed disposable surgical implements prior to the disposal thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During virtually every surgical procedure, sharp implements, such as suture needles, scalpel blades and hypodermic needles, are utilized and, following the surgical procedure, must be discarded in a safe manner. If the safety aspect of the discarding of such implements is disregarded, injury and infection of the operating room personnel may result. In order to combat this problem, many products have recently been introduced to the marketplace and many other products have been proposed in various patents.
Another serious problem attendant to the use of such sharp implements during surgery is the necessity of providing an accurate system for determining how many such implements were used and to also insure that all such implements have been accounted for following the surgical procedure. Various sharp implement count systems and devices also have been proposed to alleviate this problem.
A receiver for surgical implements utilizing a plurality of magnets which are secured to the surface of a foldable foamed elastomeric backing sheet is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,658 to Eldridge, Jr. A similar system employing an adhesive coating on a foldable pad is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,069, also to Eldridge, Jr. Another system similar to the systems described in the two previously cited Eldridge, Jr. patents, but also providing for a method for maintaining an accurate count of the number of sharp implements utilized during the surgical procedure, is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,802 to Freitag.
In U.S. Pat. No., 4,013,109 to Sandel, a disposable container for surgical instruments is described which embodies a non-deformable casing which has magnetic sheets covering the entire surfaces of both the lower and upper portions of the case.
All of the devices described in the above-cited patents suffer from a number of disadvantages and notably among the disadvantages is the inability of the operating room personnel to make a visual inspection of the receiver or container after it has been readied for disposal. For example, although U.S. Pat. No., 4,008,802 discloses a system for maintaining a count of the used sharp implements, this count cannot be verified after the pad has been folded upon itself and adhesively secured together without again opening the pad by overcoming the force of the adhesive attachment.
Furthermore, the disposable receivers described and illustrated in the first three patents cited above are constructed so that the sharp implements are exposed at the lateral edges of the devices when they are in a folded, disposable condition. This is undesirable in that it is possible that the implements can be loosened from their attachment to the devices and either be totally dislodged from the devices or placed in an unsafe position. This condition is sought to be eliminated by the relatively rigid structure proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,109. However, this container does not provide a count system for the sharp implements nor does it supply a means for visual inspection of the implements after the container has been closed and readied for disposal.
A need exists for a system for the safe disposal of sharp surgical implements which eliminates the various disadvantages which have been experienced with previously proposed devices.